Those are big side cushions! I would either open seam and take out some/much of the filling or just take them off and replace with flatter decorative pillows.

Thanks for your feedback pkpk23. I’m afraid if I take a lot of the filling out we’ll be left with sad, flabby pouches : (

Why can’t you remove the side cushions? Or, are they attached?

Just LOSE the side pillows. A better look without them, You think the sofa police will come? Add some accent pillows instead.........and plan to have to fluff those too as they will be better with a down and feather fill.

PS, Even a very high quality sofa will require cushion flips, vacuuming, rotation of cushions. Or you buy a cement bench.

Suggest removing them from both a practical and style/visual perspective

agree to just remove them and find some new accent pillows.

Another vote for removal , if hubby needs a pillow get some nice ones that don’t match the sofa. I would look for a lumbar type pillow

For right now remove the side cushions and carefully weight them down for the next few months to reduce some of the energy in the foam. You could place them between a large size mattress and box spring or place them in one of those storage bags that allows you to remove the air with a vacuum. Think up something that will not destroy the pillow covers. Then wait for a few months and test the size. Still too big then try again. This will work over time.

Or easier? Lose them. : )

Easy to say to remove them, but I suspect the arms will be hard and uncomfortable to sit next to. My DH is particular about these things!

I would take them to an upholsterer and get advise there. I would not recommend you doing it.

Also, maybe a different stuffing would work better for your needs.

We had the same problem you do except our side cushions were about half the height that yours are. I took mine off and used decorative pillows. Changed the way everything looked. If you wanted, you could do the same OR take your cushion to the upholsterer and have him make two cushions for you....same size front to back but shorter in height.

agreed, remove the side cushions and use smaller pillows instead.

Holy cow, it didn’t occur to me to just remove the pillows. I thought the arms would be too hard but DH says it’s ok. Here’s a pic with side pillows out and a short pillow in. I LOVE having the full width of the side seats. You guys are genius.

What do you think about putting a few tufts in the back cushions to keep their shape better? They’re supposed to be down/fiber covered foam but sometimes feathers come through the fabric so they’re puffier than I like. I do rotate the cushions.

I was sneezing so hard due to the feathers/down, I didn't get to make my comment until after you did what I was going to suggest!

Jan, point taken and I wish it had been an inexpensive sofa, but that is not the case. 😉

The feathers come out of the cushions because they did not use a liner fabric that has a specially tight weave to keep feathers from pushing through...if you want to try tufting....just get two big buttons ...a long upholstery needle...and place the front button on front then push a heavy upholstery thread through to the back of cushion and tie thread in back ...through the other big button...this will give you the look and a chance to see if you like it...or if it even works as a concept...

Most likely this will only work with one or two tufts per pillow

Any upholstery shop can make feather proof inner cases... to slip over the cushion stuffing....if they are zippered cushion covers...

To make your current cushions have a crisper edge you can stuff the borders with cottons stuffing..to keep them from wrinkling...

Thanks so much btydrvn, these are great suggestions. The cushions are zippered so I just took a look inside. The stuffing is in a liner that looks pretty tight but I can see a few feathers poking out so it’s obviously not tight enough. I also discovered there’s no foam at all there - it’s either all feathers or down/fiber with feathers so no wonder they’re so squishy. Maybe it’s a matter of replacing the stuffing with something firmer. I’ll probably take them to an upholsterer and ask their advice. I like your idea of trying a couple of temporary tufts to see if it works.

I would take the fabric of the original pillows and have an upholsterer re-make them to about the size of the gray one, actually a little lower.

Any cushions that are all down can be firmed up by getting a piece of foam that is thinner than the cushion cover (even half the cushion thickness ) if you start with the foam ...wrap the foam with the fiberfil...then add the feathers and down in the outer layers...this keeps the down in the right places and gives a firmer foundation needed so the whole cushion doesn’t flatten out where you sit.....most upholsterers can execute this if it is beyond a DIY for you....just be clear if you do not want a hard stiff cushion...

The arm cushions can easily be made smaller and stuffed in the same way...with the little layer of foam or not in that case...